Original Application (OA)

RDDB Act, 1993 — Section 19

The initial application filed by a bank or financial institution before the Debt Recovery Tribunal seeking recovery of debts above ₹20 lakhs. The DRT adjudicates the OA and if satisfied, issues a Recovery Certificate (RC) authorising the Recovery Officer to recover the amount.

The Original Application is the bank's primary recovery suit before the DRT, and how it is drafted shapes the entire matter. In practice the creditor files the OA under Section 19 of the RDDB Act for debts above the prescribed threshold, pleading the facility, default, computation of dues and the security, and almost always couples it with interim relief, attachment of the borrower's properties under Section 19(7), to prevent dissipation before adjudication. Correct valuation of the claim, payment of ad valorem court fee, and proper joinder of guarantors and proforma parties are gating issues; a defective OA invites returns and delay. Evidence in the DRT is led largely by affidavit, so the documentary record annexed to the OA carries the case. On success the DRT issues a Recovery Certificate for execution by the Recovery Officer. Well-advised creditors verify limitation, the security documents and the dues computation before filing, since defects surface fatally at the certificate stage.